High Card Review – This is my kind of show.

Summary

High Card focuses on a group of government-run individuals known as High Card. Their newest member, joining after getting wrapped up in an incident at a Casino, was an orphan trying to save the orphanage he grew up in, Sun Fields. Every character possesses a card from a Pinnochle deck, the higher the rank of the card the stronger. Finn, our protagonist, possesses a card only able to fire bullets in a straight line, the Two of Spades.

If you want a comparison, the show was inspired by The Kingsman Films and I can also see some similarities here to Bungou Stray Dogs. While it is cribbing a fair bit from Dogs, I would not call this a rip-off at all, just some clear inspirations from the two mentioned franchises.

One Hell of an Opening.

Okay, this is how you hook a viewer. In one episode we establish Finn, his personality and Background, the style of action you can expect from the show, and a variety of different powers. You get a glimpse of what High Calorie is, the card in possession of Chris Redgrave, and the antagonist of the episode being able to turn whatever he touches into Marbles. Pair those two with Finn's card, and you are already set up for expecting a huge variety of abilities.

It's even established there are opposing groups looking for these cards, and that their existence is supposed to be hidden from the public. Shows like this are what make me question why so many other shows struggle to establish their world even after several episodes.

The Main Character is Easy to Get Behind

Finn is a pretty straightforward forward lovable rogue type without too much depth after the first season, but that's okay. He's incredibly fun and charming, while at the same time never feeling like he has the answer to everything. His being a street urchin lets him get away with things other members of High Card can't, but his inexperience and low-powered card help to keep things feeling balanced.

The Side Cast Leaves a lot to be desired

Alright, there are no characters I don't think are done badly, just a lot of characters that feel like they are just there. Beyond Finn and Chris (to an extent), no one feels like they get enough focus to develop much of a character. Even the people being built up as the series antagonists, The Family, feel like they are currently just there to fill out the world. This part of the show leaves a lot to be desired, and not in a good way.

Excellent Fights

There are so many different powers, and most of them are used to great effect. Yes, the level of destruction quickly has you asking how people don't just know about the powers of these cards considering how easy it is for them to cause untold destruction, but that's one of those things I kind of stop caring about once the action gets going. Powers like this are best when the animation lets you see what kind of damage they are truly capable of. And it can feel bloody and violent when needed. We aren't talking Chainsaw man levels or anything, but it's enough that you feel the impact of these abilities.

I don't really get the rules.

So you are not allowed to use more than one card, and you find out this is because the more cards you use the more toll it takes on the user. That said, it seems to operate like actual poker hands. Your cards need to match. That said, earlier on it's said the cards chose their user. This... is obviously not true once you start to realize this. X-Hand, the use of multiple cards, kind of renders that moot.

Then comes using X-Hand. At first, I thought specific cards created specific abilities, but after the finale, I'm not so sure. I'll get into spoilers in a separate article, but there are rules as to how all this works I still somehow don't understand after the first season. And it can be hard to invest when I don't entirely know what the rules even are.

The middle is slow.

There is about a four episode stretch where it just feels like pointless stuff is happening, and very little to the main narrative is getting added. This is largely to establish the other characters of High Card, but for the most part, it only does the bare minimum to do that, which leaves you not only with the feeling of a sub-par side cast as mentioned before, but it also feels like the show is already being padded during the first season. At twelve episodes in, this feels like a bit of a problem.

Overall

I liked High Card. There were some issues I brought up that keep me from really loving it, but there is still a lot of energy and passion behind this one that helps it get over those hurdles. I may have been left wanting in a lot of ways I probably shouldn't (I don't think there is a reason that I shouldn't care more about this side cast), I am genuinely interested in seeing where things go in the future. It gets my recommendation.